What is Servant Partners?

I know.  Since I began considering, applied for, and became a part of the Servant Partners internship, I’ve been asked,
“So… what exactly is Servant Partners? What is this internship?  You don’t live in South LA, do you?”

Servant Partners, the internship:

A two year training in urban ministry in South LA (or Pasadena), including:

1) Living in community
Modeling ourselves after the Acts 2 and 4 community, the Servant Partners interns live together to challenge and encourage one another.

2) Living in the inner-city
In light of Jesus’ heart for the poor, we live with them.

3) Living simply
Whether we do or do not choose to acknowledge it, our culture and society has taught us unbiblical ways of living.  During the internship, we are trying to develop lives of simplicity and break free from the bondage of money, consumerism, and materialism.

4) Scripture study
Studying Scripture allows us to know God more fully, and to ground our lives in God’s truth.  The first year interns study Luke inductively, the second year interns study Acts.

5) Character growth
Growing into mature, Christ-like disciples takes a lot of work, and humble submission to Jesus.

6) Adult-style learning
The internship is what you make of it; that is, the interns are responsible for their own learning.

7) Developing sustainable faith-lives
The goal of the internship is that it would help us become the people Christ intended, by challenging us and helping us practice healthy living.

I do not work for Servant Partners; they consider the internship as raising up disciples of Jesus as a gift to the church at large.  Their hope is to help people develop sustainable lifestyles so that people are equipped to be leaders in the church.  Consequently, they do not expect people to join Servant Partners at the end of the internship (although about 25% do); they expect people to go and do what God is calling them to.

The interns work jobs to pay their bills (most of the interns work jobs unrelated to their intended career path, myself included) and do the internship on nights and weekends.  I’m currently working as a long term temporary administrative assistant at the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles.  After April 30, who knows?

For the more information, click here.

What We’ve Read So Far:

Desiring God by John Piper
Language Learning is Communication is Ministry / Bonding and the Missionary Task by Thomas and Elizabeth Brewster
Dispossessed by Mark Kramer
Companion to the Poor by Viv Grigg
Being White by Doug Schaupp
Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Practical Justice by Kevin Blue
City Vision by Stuart Murray
What Uncle Sam Really Wants by Noam Chomsky
A Spirituality of the Road by David Bosch
Unlocking Your Giftedness by Drs. J. Robert Clinton & Richard W. Clinton
Transforming Society: Reflections on the Kingdom & Politics by Dr. Melba Padilla Maggay
Streams of Living Water by Richard J. Foster
Get the Word Out by John Teter
Transforming Power by Robert Linthicum
Restoring at Risk Communities by John Perkins